. >> reporter: i have the big board up live now this is the nasdaq you can see that the stock is trading up more than 7%. keep in mind that's for the big guys, banks and initial investors who paid $38 a share they are making a little money because it is trading at almost $41. if you look at this graph, initially for the investors started trading this morning at $42.05 and plummeted initially. now it is rebounding. if you bought it at $38 you are making money. take a look at this video released by face back side the typically low profile company. it signals a new era of openness. mark zuckerberg is going to have to now answer to share holders. some experts say the company needs to figure out how to better sell advertising without alienating users who don't want to be bombarded with ads. i just talked with a professor, he does not have a crystal ball as to how the stock will perform but he does have insight into the company's future. >> ordinarily, i would say buyer beware in this case it is user beware. the user is not facebook's client, it is now going to be the investors who are going t

. >> reporter: i have the big board up live now this is the nasdaq you can see that the stock is trading up more than 7%. keep in mind that's for the big guys, banks and initial investors who paid $38 a share they are making a little money because it is trading at almost $41. if you look at this graph, initially for the investors started trading this morning at $42.05 and plummeted initially. now it is rebounding. if you bought it at $38 you are making money. take a look at this video released by face back side the typically low profile company. it signals a new era of openness. mark zuckerberg is going to have to now answer to share holders. some experts say the company needs to figure out how to better sell advertising without alienating users who don't want to be bombarded with ads. i just talked with a professor, he does not have a crystal ball as to how the stock will perform but he does have insight into the company's future. >> ordinarily, i would say buyer beware in this case it is user beware. the user is not facebook's client, it is now going to be the investors who are going t

taking a live look at the big board, the dow still hanging on, up 10. however, the nasdaq turned around. it's down 13. s&p down 1. >>> facebook now says it will make more of its company shares available when it goes public friday. according to a regulatory filing, the menlo park-based company will offer $421 million shares -- 421 million shares. that's up from 320 million, an 25% increase. an expected value of $38 a share, the ipo would generate almost $18.5 billion and that would value facebook at more than $100 billion. >>> you will see a touching and memorable moment that happened two hours ago at the remember them sculpture. >>> chilly nights and cooler days. steve paulson will tell you if that bay area pattern is about to change. >>> we feel it's very important for parents to know what kinds of games their kids are playing. >> and why giants turned out with a request for parents. ... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie la

volume picked up a little-- 859 million shares on the big board, just under two billion on the nasdaq. the sector leader was materials, up more than 1%. the industrials and consumer discretionary sectors each gained a little over 0.5%. one giant consumer-focused stock is at its highest price in more than a decade. walmart's has been adding to the gains since its most recent quarterly report showed continued turn-around with its u.s. sales. today's 1.3% gain takes w-m-t to a 12-year high. two online consumer stocks also were moving up. travel company expedia gained almost 7%. investment firm piper jaffray sees a strong pick-up in web traffic from europe this spring. netflix continues its recent rally, up another 6% today. shares recently hit six month lows. earlier, erika reported on hewlett-packard's latest quarter. dell shareholders suffered a big loss after that company's disappointing quarter and outlook. the company lost almost a fifth of its value, down 17%. volume jumped even fold. this is a year and a half low for dell. in the patent fight between google and oracle, a federal j

taking a live look at the big board, the dow is up 121. the nasdaq is up 66. s&p up 20. facebook by the way, still down about 10%. >>> well, the country is seeing a big drop in gas prices just in time for the long holiday weekend. the latest aaa report says the price is 3.69. but here in california, the prices are headed the other direction because several west coast refinery are shutting down. california has the highest prices 4.41. >>> fighting battles we never could. >> the super heroes of the avengers were still number one at the box office. it's more than double the second place battleship. >>> today on the news at 5:00, a federal grand jury is reportedly investigate egg the police force. officers have been involved in at least two major incidents including a fatal shooting. find out what's behind this investigation. thank you for trusting the news. we will see you the flextime news breaks. we're always here for you at ktvu.com and mobile ktvu.com. e know you look around for the best deals. that's why we give you real big club card deals each week. right now, arrowhe

people were encouraged to walk or bike over the big board's landmark. >>> it is a wonderful day for me. i remember my daughter was two years old on the bridge. >>> the bridge was temporarily open for pedestrians, but that did not happen this year because it had previously saying. >>> many of arrived early at the four baker waterfront to give use of the celebration. >>> once-in-a-lifetime. >>> we miss the 50th, so we thought what the heck, 75 is close enough. >>> if you want to watch the fireworks show in its entirety we have posted that video on our website. >>> i that you hear the rumble, i thought what is that sound? >>> cash your check, the big bill that obama is getting from southern california. >>> and how low conditions merely made this rescue impossible. >>> ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> no reports of major damage or injury after a moderate earthquake shook parts of china today. it was a magnitude of 4.7. it was east of beijing. some of the taller buildings swayed in the capital city. more violence in central syria. more than a hundred civilians died in the town of hula over the weekend.

you are looking live at the big board you can see still down more than 160 points. >>> the city of oakland celebrates its 160th birthday today. festivities get underway less than a half hour from now. the model of city hall was vandalized when occupy protesters broke foot building in january. a cake-cutting ceremony and concert will mark the occasion. police are welcoming the community inside their department headquarters in a first ever open house tonight. visitors will get the chance to meet chief jordan and other officers. it will be held at the police administration building on 7th street starting at 5 p.m.. >>> still ahead, a look back after a rap pioneer passes away. >>> hoping to make something good out of something bad the family of legendary football player junior seau hopes to do in hopes of unraveling the mystery of his suicide.. he was 47. >> the family of former nfl star junior seau will donate his brain for research into repetitive head injuries. the chaplain for the chargers says the family made that decision to allow for the possibility of helping others. he added the famil

you are looking live at the big board you can see still down more than 160 points. >>> the city of oakland celebrates its 160th birthday today. festivities get underway less than a half hour from now. the model of city hall was vandalized when occupy protesters broke foot building in january. a cake-cutting ceremony and concert will mark the occasion. police are welcoming the community inside their department headquarters in a first ever open house tonight. visitors will get the chance to meet chief jordan and other officers. it will be held at the police administration building on 7th street starting at 5 p.m.. >>> still ahead, a look back after a rap pioneer passes away. >>> hoping to make something good out of something bad the family of legendary football player junior seau hopes to do in hopes of unraveling the mystery of his suicide. rapper and musician of the beastie boys has died he co-fonded the beastie boys -- he co-founded the beastie boys in 1979 he had been if treatment for cancer. -- been in treatment for cancer. he was 47. >> the family of former nfl star junior seau will do

linkedin connects with the big board.like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. >>> mitt romney's been getting advice from all sides. trash talking from charles barkley. listen to what he said during the celtics and hawks playoff game on tnt. >> mitt romney. >> he's at the game. >> we going to beat you like a drum in november. don't take it personally. seem like a nice guy. but you going down, bro. >> joining me now is another basketball star, bill bradley. he's a rm toer presidential candidate and host of american voices on xm. welcome. >> good to be with you, piers. >> what did you make of charles barkley there trashing it out against mitt romney. we're going to beat you like a drum. did you go along with that? >> sounded like a lot of people i knew on the court. >> what it did do, ironically, is lead us perfectly to your central premise of your book which

stuff was blowing out of here -- big boards, just debris of all kinds, bottles, stuff. >> the national weather service is warning of a flash flooding. >>> let's give you the latest. we got a line of storms sparking a severe thunderstorm warning for washington county and allegheny county. in carroll county and frederick county a severe thunderstorm watch. north of the state line some severe thunderstorm warnings impact the york area as well. you can see why on maryland's most powerful radar a big cluster of storms toward hagerstown. one storm cell moving north of walkerville. if you're in taneytown you probably have another five or 10 minutes, strong thunderstorms, some dangerous lightning. not rated severe yet. then further west more storms pushing in. so, again, how much of this will hold together? we think it will hold together for awhile. there's so much heat and humidity to help fuel the storms. you can see the weather changing in western maryland through the day. as we take a look at our time lapse, clouds clie up. mt. airy, also see a change. hot, sunny bright conditions early on

. >>> take a look at the big board, investors apparently liking what they are seeing as they head into the shortened week of trading after the memorial day break. home prices up next month. so that's giving investors something positive to look at. some other economic news, not so good. take a look. >> the dow up more than 100 points right now. >>> that bad economic news, american's confidence in the economy apparently fell in may. the conference board says the consumer confidence index now stands at 64.9. that's down from 68.7 in april. researchers say slow hiring and that big stock market drop as well as the global economy are among consumer's biggest -- consumers' biggest concerns. >>> next month, 70,000 people will receive their final unemployment checks sooner than expected. federal extensions of benefits had run 99 weeks. but in a budget-cutting measure, the number of weeks they were eligible was cut as the state saw decreases in their numbers. here in california, the maximum number for claims filed is 79 weeks. so far this year, 500,000 people have had unemployment insurance cut

pandora rocks the big board. like splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweeteners.s bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. splenda® essentials™ are the first and only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. mmm. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. >>> right now the man accused of planning the 9/11 attacks are in court. one of the first issues at hand, what clothes they are able to wear at the hearing. defense lawyers want khalid sheikh mohammed to be able to wear vests and turbans. mohammed is the admitted mastermind of 9/11, blamed for the attack on three people. our pentagon correspondence, chris lawrence, is in guantanamo bay, cuba. what is happening in court right now? >> reporter: randi, a couple hours ago when we talked you mentioned it could be a circus atmosphere and in less than an hour it certainly lived up to that already. khalid sheikh moha

let's take a look at the big board on this wednesday. the dow is down in a big way. 163 points. stocks are sinking as investors worry about europe and the big crisis there. economists believe that greece could leave the euros own. >> in the health watch, it warning for people that by aderall online, it could be fake. the fda warns about a counterfeit version of the 30 mg aderall. the agency says the fate tablets are being sold with the wrong active ingredients. companies that to make the drug are facing a shortage of the real ingredients while the demand for the drug is growing. and it warning for women, working the night shift could boost your breast cancer risk. his researchers found that women that work the night shift or the two nights for week run a higher risk. they say this could be one of the biggest occupation hazards linked to cancer. sleep deprivation leads to a weakened immune system and researchers say that may lead to an increase in cancer cells. well it was a huge shock for one waiter in houston after his customers left him a $5,000 tip. >> the generous payments c

>> wall street responded to weak data on consumer spending to wooded >> let's take a look at the big board right now. it is down 70 points. big retailers including costco and macy's in target said today that they sold less in april than expected. they blame it on colder temperatures that kept shoppers from getting out of their house. >> a real hope for people at risk of developing alzheimer's. the key to prevention may lie in eating more salmon. researchers from columbia university study more than 1200 patients over the age of 65 for more than a year. pigeons that eight more foods rich in omega three fatty acids showed lower levels of a protein linked to memory issues. this includes salmon and mackerel. >> are you hungry yet? >> i have a little sunshine for you but enjoy the rain because this could be it. this could be it. but this may be the last storm of the season. doppler radar picking up on that right now and you can see the cell moving through. a lot of cloud cover and we are seeing some delays at sfo. take it in for a closer look. you can see the rain making its way into oakland. po

take aclive look at the big board, the dow down 154. the nasdaq is down 31. s&p is down 17.ping news out of oakland where -- where a police standoff is taking place in a residential neighborhood. it started around 10:30 on richie street near macarthur boulevard. police surrounded a home there where a man may be armed and holed up. the man is wanted for allegedly beating his girlfriend and committing robbery. police say he ran into the home and forced the occupants to leave. we'll update this story online and at 5:00 -- and at 5:00. >>> check your lottery tickets. someone in the bay area has won a lot of money. the $227,000 ticket was purchased at fox liquor's in san francisco. someone bought it two months ago when the megajackpot was worth a record breaking $600 million. the other ticket was purchased in hollywood. those were the only sotickets -- those were the only two tickets. >>> today on the news at 5:00, the high point of a monumental construction project that's part of the conviction skyline. see how the building could yield the information that we need to better prot

good morning. >> i love being in front of the big board and it is my turn.ednesday, is it gail day? >> we do. we're excited every wednesday morning. >> it is so nice when you shoot me. hello. did you know that more tigers are in captivity in the united states than in the while all around the world? only on cbs this morning. undercover video inside of an exotic animal park showing you behavior that the humane society calls alarming. and walking away from the fame and fortune of professional football due to fears of head trauma. a former nfl linemen gives us his first tv interview since suddenly retiring. those stories and more when we see you starting at 7:00. >> thank you so much. >> seniors in florida with perfect grades for all four years. they're all flying for the honor of valedictorian, giving that speech. and our high schools says that each student has a 5.0 grade point average. so they have one last academic contest ahead of next month graduation. school leaders ask them to enter a speech writing contest. the best one will address the graduating class

. >>> there is a look at the big board. the numbers, re -- the numbers they are down.estors are not feeling great about european and greece possibly leading the eurozone. >>> the labor department department has the total number of new applications in may after hitting a five-month high last month for unemployment. >>> mortgage rates fell to a record low. interest rates dipped to 3.78%. that's down from 3.79 last week. it's the lowest rate since the 1950s. analysts say the record low interest rates are responsible for new signs of life for the real estate market. home prices jumped about 2.7% in march. that's compared to the same time last year. >>> this saturday is will debut the new earthquake exhibit. >> the big draw is the shakehouse that left people like our own david steven son experiencing how the 190 -- stevenson experiencing how the 1906 loma prieta earthquake felt. >>> well, today, on the news at 5:00, garcia-torres is set to make his first court appearance in just about an hour from now. at the time it's expected he will be charged in connection with the disa

are flat to lower today after still some concern about the situation in europe, a live look at the big board, the dow currently down 61 at 12,381. >>> facebook shares now are up but much less than expected on their first day of trading. huge order volume actually caused technical problems that delayed the coming out party of the number 1 on-line social network by 20 minutes this morning. again this is live from the nasdaq where facebook is listed under the symbol f b, up just slightly right now at 38.07. >>> the historic battleship that spent the last decade in suisun bay will move out this weekend. crews have been cleaning up the uss iowa. the world war ii battleship will head to los angeles to become a floating museum. it would have stayed in the bay area put the san francisco board of supervisors rejected a resolution to move the iowa to the city as a floating museum. the bay area will get its last look at the uss iowa as it passes under the golden gate bridge around 3:30 sunday afternoon. >>> there are now just two singers left in the bid to become the next american idol. [ cheers ] >> t

taking a live look at the big board, the dow currently down at 57 at 13,211. mortgage buyers freddie mac says that the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 3.84%. that's the lowest since the 1950s. the 15-year mortgage also dropped to a record 3.07%. >>> there ace new record in the art world a buyer paid nearly $120 million for the scream by edward munch. this is one of the four versions of the iconic artwork and the only one privately owned. the others are in huges. the buyer is not being identified. the previous record was $118 million for a picasso. >>> a close encounter for a lion with a boy. the lion at the portland zoo wanted to get a piece of the toddler. someone later pointed out the striped clothing made the boy look like kind of a baby zebra. >>> tonight at 5:00, what cust is learning about the researcher who died from the same disease he was studying. what the c.d.c. has to say about this case. >>> thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news. be sure to tune in the next time the news breaks. we are here on ktvu.com and ktvu mobile. installing cab

taking a live look at the big board, the dow is down 93. the nasdaq is down 14.&p, down 8. >>> there is a spark of encouragement, though, about job openings, the labor department says employers advertise 3.74 million job openings this march. it's a nearly 5% increase from february and the highest number of openings since july of 2008. more than 12.7 million people were unemployed in march. >>> the second phase of oracle's lawsuit against google is now underway. the federal jury will now start hearing system on whether google's android phones violate java a tense. this is after the jury reached a split decision on the copyright aspect the of the legal bat. the jury decided one count in favor of oracle. two in favor of google. >>> he's called or-7, a lone wolf who has been on the move in california. we're tracking down those tracking the lone wolf. that's at 5:00. thank you for joining us. we'll see you the next time news breaks.

taking a live look at the big board, the dow currently down 28. the nasdaq up 4.&p, down 5. >>> we have just gotten word that california state university faculty has voted to authorize a series of strikes if a new contract cannot be reached. members of the california faculty association began voting son april 16th after contract negotiations failed. the union represents 24,000 professors, counselors and other staff on 23 csu campuses. >>> according to the wall street journal, mark zuckerberg will begin his ipo road show on monday. the company's highly anticipated public offering is reportedly scheduled for may 18th. the road shows a series of meetings with perspective institutional investors designed to generate interest in company stock. the menlo park based company is seeking to raise about $5 billion in the public offering. >>> bay area star trek fans are excited today. hollywood is here to film the sequel to the 2009 star trek blockbuster produced by jj abrams. the "tribune" says some scenes are being shot at the lawrence livermore laboratory. but no "star tre

you can see year on the big board that the dow is up about 95 points. >> and here's something for investors to feel good about to read for the first time in seven months home prices are on the rise and most major u.s. cities including tampa and miami, two of the most weak markets in the country. the increase is the latest incursion son of a housing rebound. sales are also up in mortgage rates have never been lower. >> today federal and local officials and top of an operation that has netted dozens of arrests. the operation is going on for three months now. atf agents and local police have been teaming up to now suspects who have attempted armed robberies and tried to sell drugs. today the u.s. attorney for northern california said that more than 60 people now face federal charges and more locally. >> our work here in oakland continues. but we hope that what we have accomplished so far sends a strong message to those that choose to engage in violent crime on the streets of oakland. we're watching, we will find you, and we will prosecute you and you will be removed from the community. >> so f

taking a live look at the big board, the dow is down 15. the nasdaq is positive, up 6. s&p also up 2. >>> a federal jury in san francisco has ruled in favor of oracle in its copyright lawsuit against google but it has reached an impasse on one declaim. the jury was deating -- key claim. the jury debating that google stole some of the technology belonging to or rae kell. the jury agreed google infringed on the largest of the claims but it could not agree on whether google's use was legally protected fair use. google has argued it only used parts of oracle technology that have always been freely available. google is moving for a mistrial. >>> there's a lot of cars that fly down here. parking here is really dangerous. >>> after the death of a pedestrian in the last 24 hours, people are raising concerns about the safety of a street. >>> rosemary will be up next to tell you if the warming trend will continue into the week. >>> it costs more to hunt around for it than to just fill up. >> the bay area reacts to gas prices. the bay area is not following the downward trend like

billions but it is taking on water and things are getting worse for them taking a live look at the big boarddown 103, nasdaq down 43, s&p down 13. >>> home buying and refinancing is more affordable than ever. mortgage rates continue their steady decline for the third straight week, reaching new record lows. according to the latest data from freddie plaque, the rate on a 0-year loan dipped to 3.79%, the lowest since long- term mortgages began in the 50s. the rate was down to 3.04 for 15 years. >>> apple wants a new paternity that will give it more control over how you list tone music. they filed a clip wheel that can clip to the steering wheel of the car. it can give drivers control over ios devices including ipad, iphone,ipods that means you can change the volume, change strong without taking your hand off the wheel. >>> a new store will be located on costra costa boulevard. in and out had planned to open a second location but a group of walnut creek residents opposed the move because of parking restriction and trash. >>> thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news. we'll see you the next tim

volume picked up on the selling today. 900 million shares moved on the big board, almost 2.2 billion on the nasdaq. leading the market lower today: the consumer discretionary sector shed more than 1%. other losses were more muted; financial and materials sectors were down about 0.5%. speaking of consumer-focused companies, thanks to more visitors to its theme parks, walt disney earnings were stronger than forecast last quarter. the house of the mouse earned 58 cents per share, three cents better than expected. its movie business lost money thanks to the box office bomb "john carter," but business was up at its theme parks and its media networks, like abc and espn. shares fought against a weak tape all day today, ending the regular session up 1%. this was the best percentage gainer among dow industrial stocks. after the close, the stock continued moving up, gaining another 1% from this closing price. if that holds through tomorrow's opening bell, disney stock would hit a new high. we have more analysis of disney's stock on our web site, www.nbr.com, under the "blogs" tab. the consumer

volume during today's weakness, 767 million shares on the big board.almost 1.7 billion on the nasdaq. leading the sell-off: sectors closely tied to the global economy. the energy sector fell 3%. the financial sector was down 2.2%. and the industrial stock sector fell almost 2%. with sellers back in the stock market and with european worries building, we saw a pop in the market's fear gauge. the chicago board options exchange volatility index measures options prices, the higher the index, the higher investor concern tends to be. this index jumped more than 14% today. fear has been building this month as stocks have sold off. u.s. stocks continue taking their cue from europe. this exchange traded fund tracks the biggest euro sector stocks. today's 3.5% drop brings the fund to within 25 cents of its 52-week low. research in motion didn't help out today's weak tone. last night the company warned of a first quarter loss and announced it has hired investment bankers to explore strategic options. volume jumped, but the stock certainly didn't. shares fell 7.8%

. >> let's take a look at the big board. right now the dow is down but not by much. you can see it there. 14 and change. u.s. stocks under pressure amid uncertainty about what will happen in europe next. in france voters ousted the president, yesterday elected a socialist. the president-elect had pledged in his words " to finish with austerity ". he says the cuts in government spending have been too deep and too fast. >> he is basically saying " we're not going to embrace austerity economics, that is cutting budget deficits and safety nets. >> he will officially become president one week from tuesday. forming a new government, and doing international travel. and then your to the united states. the president has invited him to the white house. an increase, weeks of political turmoil likely done. the express their anger over income cuts punishing mainstream politicians in a general election. now no party has a ruling majority in that country. a pro austerity party came in first and is now time to form a coalition government. >> now to camping 2012 wearing new poll show

taking a live look at the big board, the dow down 154, nasdaq down 61, s&p down 20. >>> 49er coach jim harbaugh joined an all star line up this morning in santa clara at a breakfast of champions. coming up in 10 minutes the heroes harbaugh celebrated and what they accomplished. >>> we could learn more today about funeral arrangements for junior seau found dead on wednesday, the medical examiner has ruled his death a suicide. an autopsy confirms he died from a self inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, its not known if concussions contributed to his death but his family says hey are donating his brain to research and to repetitive head injuries. fans and neighbors have set up a memorial outside his ocean side home. today on mornings on 2 we heard from one of his neighbors. >> definitely, i mean the guy has taken a million hits and given a million hits. and you can't -- his brain can't be exactly perfect right now you know so -- but junior was always in good spirits always big smiles always telling you go lizy go, and i was always rooting for him, too. >> family members and friends have

volume was up on the big board from yesterday, with 843 million shares trading. it dropped a little on the nasdaq to 1.9 billion. limiting the downside, the financial, utilities and consumer discretionary sectors. none of them managed to gain more than 0.7%. almost two weeks after disclosing its multibillion- dollar loss and a day after canceling stock buyback plans, j.p. morgan shares were the big winner among financial stocks. perhaps it was some short- covering as volume doubl, with the stock gaing morehan 4.5%. it remains well below the price it was trading at before it admitted to a big trading loss earlier this month. while energy stocks held their own, patriot coal continues coming under significant pressure. pcx shares lost a third of their value today as it works to restructure its finances. the coal miner has suffered under falling demand for coal as a result of competition from low natural gas prices. losses have piled up. it's shutting mines and cutting jobs, looking to save cash. clothing company ralph lauren is the latest consumer brand to warn abou

volume on the big board dropped to 778 million shares; nasdaq saw one and three-quarter billion shares. defensive sectors consumer staples and health care saw buyers, as did the materials sector, but they were up less than 1%. among the material stocks moving higher, dow chemical. the global giant won a $2 billion award from the state- run chemical company in kuwait. that company cancelled a multi- billion dollar plastics joint venture with dow four years ago. shares rose more than 3% on heavier than usual volume. what was to be a $17 billion dollar plastics business was canceled during the credit crisis in 2008. the kuwaiti company said it is considering its legal options. technology stocks were the laggards. data storage equipment maker net-app pointed the finger at europe for its disappointing outlook. shares plummeted 12%. volume jumped eight-fold with the stock sinking to a new 52- week low. other data storage stocks were hit by the sour guidance. f-5 networks fell almost 8%; e.m.c. shed almost 5%. meantime, hewlett packard shares rebounded more than 3% a day after confirming plan

trading volume rose on the big board, 779 million shares, while it was a little lighter on the nasdaq: 1.8 billion. leading the losers, the energy sector fell more than 1.5%. financial stocks also pressured the market, down 1%. and the more defensive utility sector was down more than a half percent. with job worries, come concerns about less energy demand. oil and natural gas fell, putting pressure on producers. coal company alpha natural resources shed more 5.5%. natural gas explorer range resources was down almost 5%. and oil producer marathon fell more than 4%. the job market may be soft but we continue using mastercard and visa. the two payment system giants records stronger than expected profit growth in their latest quarters, visa's earnings were nine cents better than anticipated. visa cardholders swiped their cards 13 billion times in the past quarter, up 8% from a year ago. and the dollar amount of those swipes was up, too. mastercard's earnings also came in stronger than forecast. consumers spent more, increasing card payments grew faster overseas than compared to the growth

volume wasn't spectacular-- just 710 million shares on the big board, under 1.7 billion on the nasdaq. all ten of the major stock sectors were higher, led by the materials, technology and financial sectors, each up about 1.5%. now, among the leading bank stocks today, bank of america. it was the best performing dow industrial stock. b-a-c shares shot up more than 4%, but volume was lighter than usual. the buying takes bank of america to its highest stock price in almost two weeks. also moving on the dow: caterpillar, up almost 3%. striking workers at its joliet, illinois, plant vote tomorrow on a revised contract offer, but their union recommends rejecting the offer. about 780 workers at the plant have been on strike for a month. facebook is plumbing new lows tonight, less than two weeks after its much-hyped stock sale. and the price weakness around facebook is dragging down one of its big partners. facebook fell almost 10%. the company was mentioned as possibly considering buying a norwegian maker of internet browser software, but there was no official comment. it was one of the most